Rose Splendide
Goutal (2010)

Annick Goutal Rose Splendide has a name that suggests a thing of grandeur, as most of Goutal's perfumes are. Tuberose, Ylang, Jasmine, Gardenia (apparently a stealth tuberose, marketed as a gardenia, to satisfy American customers' demands for gardenias), and of course, Rose, all with capital letters. They are diva florals, basically single-note, relatively linear, meticulous in detail, made of impeccable materials. Each perfume seems like the definitive interpretation of the flower it represents. They're not photorealistic. They are hyperrealistic.

Grand florals have always been part of perfumery, but Goutal's florals, are unlike others. They first appeared the early 1990s, a time when Floral perfumes were usually elaborate bouquets, with aldehydic openings, and rich, complicated, Oriental bases. Compared with these, Annick Goutal's perfumes had an attractive simplicity, from their straightforward composition, to their packaging, with their almost homemade-looking labels tied with a little gold cord to their identical fluted bottles. They were niche perfumes, before we had niche perfumes. I thought of them as, "Boutique," a word I used, for many years, for small perfumery, until Niche, became a thing. They were, seemingly, almost artisanal, relatively unpretentious, comparatively youthful, and somehow, authentically, French. They were like a perfectly cut cotton T shirt and ballet slippers, or a simple but elegant bias-cut gown, with the other perfumes of the era, being like a rack of embellished power suits, and bejeweled stilettos. But, they were not shy. Goutal's early classic florals could roar with the best of them.

Rose Splendide is different. I expected it to be a classic Goutal, and in some ways it is. It is, still singule-note soliflore, and straightforward in its composition, and it is a beautiful. and hyperreal Rose. But, compared with everything I've known from Goutal. the faders have been lowered, significantly. It is drawn in pencil., and painted in watercolor, rather than drawn in ink and painted in oil. It is like a sundress, rather than a bias-cut gown.

The rose itself, if it had a color, would be pale, but emphatic, pink. It is neither thin nor watery, but it is delicate. It is not dense, velvety, or particularly plush, but rather fresh, comfortable, and pillowy soft. It is luxurious in the way that Egyptian cotton sheets and Hanro cotton lingerie are luxurious.

The way Rose Splendide develops seems to tell a story. It's like picking a rose, bringing it to your nose, allowing its aroma to consume your senses, and then coming back to the world, the rose still with you. It opens with a vegetal musk that resembles the sharp, peppered scent of a stem, green and pungent, almost like a bell pepper, and I can almost see and feel the rose stems, with their sharp thorns–a witty connection of sharp scent and imagery of sharp stems, if that was the intent. It lasts longer than opening notes typically do, and the first few times I wore Rose Splendide, I was not sure how I felt about it, because this musk often occurs in anemic, pale, and usually aquatic florals, that I don't like.

But then, the faint scent of a rose emerges. For a while, it parallels the musk, with the pepper gradually losing steam. As the rose blooms, on skin, it becomes an airy, almost billowy, rose, soft around the edges, almost but not quite powdery. Watercolor.

As the rose opens up, it picks up a just a little touch of fruit. Most rose perfumes, including Goutal's, include some fruity qualities–peach, like in Nahema, or plum, like Voleur de Roses. Rose Splendide has touch of pear, a note that is found in other Annick Goutal perfumes like Ninfeo Mio. For this perfume, pear is an inspired choice, because it is very Goutal, and also because it is an elegant scent, less exuberant, more tender and delicate, than the pitted/stone fruits. The pear is a little tart, but not sour or thin, and it has a hint of juiciness, that is probably the secret to one of Rose Splendide's most attractive qualities, a very striking freshness, that lasts throughout the life of the perfume. (This freshness can become almost overwhelming when oversprayed, so do not be fooled by the perfume's soft textures and slow opening).

Further along, the rose becomes creamy, with a whiff of something lemon, probably the magnolia promised in the perfume's notes. Like the pear, magnolia fits the perfume's personality, another delicate, elegant floral note, its subtlety, and its imagery, pink and white, fits the pastel shade of this very particular rose.

A few hours in, the vegetal musk makes a second entrance, and marries, with the rose, pear, and magnolia, in a final stage that sustains the notes, together, like a small chamber chorus, of soprano female voice. Despite Rose Splendide's tender, near understated, personality, it lasts for at least twelve hours, perhaps longer on fabric. I wore it yesterday evening, and at ten o'clock this morning, I can still smell it at an inch or two from my arm, and it is firmly embedded, in the t shirt that I slept in.

Rose Splendide is different enough from Goutal's other roses to deserve its place in the house' impressive floral collection. It feels especially appropriate in warm weather, with a soft enough personality that suggests daytime wear. I frequently wear it to the office, where it regularly earns compliments from our real estate clients and staff. Yet, it is a rose, so it also has enough romance for evening wear, in warm weather, and to places like restaurants, where a subtle perfumes are most suitable. This versatile beauty deserves a place in any rose lover's collection. It won't throw you down and ravish you, but it is quietly seductive nevertheless. Highly recommended.

A dreamy scent. Rose, is hugged by musk. Somewhat milky at first... A summery, honeyed by vanilla, magnolia thing. A delightful pear note really adds some interest! A delicate rose remains throughout. Feminine, a bit sweet, with hints of powder.

Rides smooth and steady on the skin, without any pot-holes on this trip. Enjoyable, with nothing mean or annoying to note.

The evolution is linear, the rose is playing the main role. For the first half hour the rose is accompanied by a nice aerie semi-sweet pear. I think this is the best part of the evolution. After the first half hour i couldn't smell anything else than the rose which is of mediocre quality and very common. It reminded me a bit (in this phase) of the Rose of Bulgaria which is a nice cheapie EdP but it is not as good as Rose of Bulgaria.
Sillage is medium, stayed on my skin for about 4-5 hours.

5-6/10

In the opening 15 minutes, I felt like I could pick out the individual notes of pear, vanilla and/or tonka, and musk; and then it blended into a harmonious accord similar to Burberry for Women from 1995, and held that accord from then on. I like this even more than Burberry, it's more rounded and less challenging after the first half hour. I think this would work well for women as a date-night scent.

The rose in this smells like a vase full of roses, dark, rich roses, and not sweet.

Stardate 20170223:

This starts nice with rose and citrus and some milk/vanilla. But then the top note fades and it becomes linear with rose almost gone.
Not bad but the other one - Rose Absolute is better.

Yup, whole bunch of roses, cut stems, leaves, wet from the rain, and the actual rose fragrance itself - gorgeous. A light, summery and airy rose, with a lovely magnolia added in the drydown, where a fruity pear appears. In the base a light pleasant tonka notes adds some richness. A green light summer-day rose, beautifully blended and one of my favourite Goutals. Good silage and projection with a very good longevity of six hours. A rose is a rose is a rose...with a stem.